So yer probably wondering where What I Bought Today is, and I’ll get it typed up as soon as I’m done with this. However, I wanted to get this outta the way first, because it’s an issue brought up online a lot as of late. Good news: Nightwing is alive, and they’re not going to kill him off. YAY! Bad news: The Crime Syndicate captured him, beat the snot out of him, then unmasked him on television, and followed that up by broadcasting information on his identity to the whole world, all the while promising to hunt down every last person he cared for and doing the same to anyone else who opposed them… … … …Okay, I have a few questions. lol

I’m obviously happy that Dick Grayson is alive and is still gonna be around, ‘cuz I like Nightwing a lot. However, from the standpoint of the villains…these ARE the same people that orchestrated the apparent fall of the Justice League, right? So why are they being so frigging stupid here? Look, I get it, it’s the be cruel, because letting Dick live while the world knows he’s Nightwing pretty much jeopardises any attempts he could ever make to be a hero again, and I’ll get to the problems with that in a sec, but isn’t it kinda dangerous to let arguably Batman’s greatest protégé live? And based on a cover for an upcoming issue of Justice League…Yeah, he gets away from them. Look kinda stupid now, don’cha Syndicate? That said, this one doesn’t bother me too much, since at least it would show the heroes outsmarting the villains, and so far with this story arc, they could use a victory here and there.

Is it really a good idea to mess with the new status quo in the Nightwing book…when it was JUST RECENTLY ESTABLISHED??? He’s only been in Chicago for a little while. Experiment with that more before you throw THIS monkey-wrench in too.

As I mentioned before, having his identity be public knowledge kinda messes with him being a superhero. The way I figure it, they’re gonna do one of a few things here: 1) Reverse it somehow (if they involve the devil, I quit), 2) They’re gonna have him pass the mantle to someone else and mentor that individual (I vote Tim Drake, Harper Row, or Stephanie Brown), 3) He’ll turn heel (please don’t), or 4) He’ll just have to deal with it and the people of Chi-town will either deal with it or they won’t.

Why do this to Nightwing? I mean, if they felt the need to do a moment where the Crime Syndicate unmasked a beaten-up superhero to show how dominant and dangerous they are, wouldn’t it make more sense if they took one of a members of the Justice League, who they apparently got the better of, and unmask them? Now, for obvious reasons, doing that to Superman or Batman would be a HUGE no-no, and Wonder Woman doesn’t really HAVE a secret identity (I think), but what about The Flash? Green Lantern? Hawkman? Katana? ANY of them? Heck, Simon Baz is actually going to be mentoring a new Green Lantern in Forever Evil anyway, why not have him be forcibly unmasked, then the new girl rescues him, then he trains her to become a Green Lantern to help him stop the Syndicate?

And I’m sorry if this seems like I’m lecturing on 2 and 4, but these are things that came pretty easy to me, and I get the feeling like DC either didn’t consider that or didn’t care. That said, do I think this is a completely stupid move that cannot be redeemed in any way? NO. A completely stupid move that couldn’t be redeemed in any way would be killing him. THIS actually has potential to work, as long as they remember to THINK. If they stay smart about what they’re doing and craft this carefully, it CAN work. However, I think I can be justified in being slightly concerned, as this IS a major change.

Oh, and real quick, before I wrap this up, people online have suggested that Nightwing getting captured and having the snot kicked outta him by Superwoman and Owlman seemed too easy…Really? These are two villains that would probably beat the snot outta Batman, and HAVE in previous continuities, but doing that to Nightwing is too easy? And as FHIZ pointed out on Twitter, if Batman can get surprise attacked by a giant swinging wooden hammer, I think it’s possible for the Crime Syndicate to get the jump on Nightwing. Just sayin’.

Anyway, lemme know what you guys think about all of this, and hopefully, everything turns out alright. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go write about…